The five areas of life where Australians might notice inflation rise the most

Food had mixed inflation results, with lamb and beef prices down 10.9% and 3.6% respectively from a year earlier, while fruit and vegetables were up 6.3%. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

The June quarter inflation figures hit a financial market sweet spot, with the Australian dollar diving and stocks spiking as they unwound bets that the Reserve Bank was about to hoist interest rates again.

Households, though, might be in a less celebratory mood given the annual rate of consumer inflation, at 3.8%, isn’t much lower than the 4.1% recorded at the end of 2023. It was also up from 3.6% in the March quarter.